Real Madrid wants to bring Modrić and Kroos back into the club structure: Pérez is counting on the experience of the legendary duo
Real Madrid is once again opening the door for Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos, but this time outside the roles in which they defined the most successful period in the club's modern history. According to information published in recent weeks by Spanish media, especially the daily AS, Florentino Pérez wants to bring the two former midfield leaders closer to Real Madrid's sporting project after the end of their playing careers. In Madrid, such a scenario is being discussed as a possible continuation of cooperation with two people who know very well the internal dynamics of the dressing room, the demands of the Bernabéu and the profile of a player who can fit into the club's identity. This is not an officially confirmed appointment, but rather a plan that, according to the available information, is developing at a time when the club is simultaneously going through an important institutional moment. Real Madrid confirmed in an official announcement by the electoral board that the presidential elections will be held on June 7, 2026, so the discussion about the role of club legends naturally fits into the broader debate about the club's future direction.
The idea is not a return to the pitch, but entry into a broader sporting project
According to AS, after Modrić's farewell from Real Madrid, Pérez left the door open for him to return in a format that he himself would choose after the end of his playing career. In the same Spanish outlet, Kroos's possible return is described as part of an intention to strengthen the club's sporting structure, while the final title of the role has not yet been officially announced. This means that the two former midfielders, if an agreement is reached, could be involved in tasks that are not limited only to work with the first team. Their experience would be valuable in assessing player profiles, understanding the market, discussions about arrivals and departures, and identifying the characteristics Real Madrid needs in the next cycle. In such a concept, Modrić and Kroos would not be merely symbolic faces from a glorious past, but potential advisers who, with their authority, could connect the sporting leadership, the dressing room and the club philosophy.
The key difference compared with many returns of former players is that this would involve two footballers who shaped Real's game from the very middle of the pitch. For years, Modrić and Kroos made decisions under the greatest pressure, in Champions League finales, derbies and decisive matches in which Real Madrid often did not win only through individual quality, but also through the ability to control the rhythm. This type of knowledge is difficult to measure in classic statistical reports, but for the club it can be extremely useful when assessing the maturity, character and tactical intelligence of potential reinforcements. According to Spanish information, Pérez sees additional value in this because Modrić and Kroos can recognize nuances that do not come only from numbers, but from the experience of winning the biggest trophies. Real Madrid has not yet announced an official decision on their roles, so any possible engagement must still be viewed as a possibility, not as a completed deal.
Modrić's status: Milan, the World Cup and Madrid's open door
Luka Modrić ended his playing chapter at Real Madrid in 2025, after thirteen seasons in which he became the most decorated footballer in the club's history. In an official announcement on May 22, 2025, Real Madrid stated that Modrić's spell in the white shirt would end after that year's FIFA Club World Cup, and the club highlighted his 28 titles, including six European crowns. According to club data from the legends profile, Modrić played 597 matches for Real Madrid and scored 43 goals, and together with Casemiro and Kroos formed one of the most highly regarded midfields in the history of modern football. AC Milan then officially announced on July 14, 2025, that Modrić had signed a contract until June 30, 2026, with an option to extend for one more season. His playing career therefore continued in Serie A, but at the same time the story remained open about what could follow after his last major international challenge.
At the end of May 2026, AS reported that Modrić, who will turn 41 on September 9, is moving increasingly close to the end of his playing career and that the 2026 World Cup could be the natural final point of his appearance at the highest level. FIFA confirmed in the official schedule that the tournament begins on June 11, 2026, with a match in Mexico City, and Modrić's possible farewell to the national team would carry strong symbolism given his role in Croatia's success at the 2018 World Cup and third place four years later. In Madrid, according to AS, the discussion is not about a return as a player, but about the possibility that Modrić could take on an advisory or sporting role after retirement. Such a role would suit his profile because throughout his career he established himself not only as a technically exceptional footballer, but also as a player whose authority, calmness and understanding of the game were decisive in the biggest matches. For Real Madrid, Modrić's return in any operational form would have both emotional and professional value.
Kroos is already living football from another perspective
Toni Kroos ended his professional playing career after the 2024 European Championship, which Real Madrid confirmed in an official statement on May 21 of that year. The club then described him as one of the great legends of Real Madrid and world football, and according to a later club legends profile, Kroos recorded 465 appearances for Real over ten seasons, scored 28 goals and won 23 trophies. Among them are five European titles with Real Madrid, while with Germany he was world champion in 2014. Unlike Modrić, Kroos has already been outside professional playing for some time and views football from an educational, analytical and developmental perspective. AS reported in April 2026 that Real Madrid was preparing his return to the club's sporting structure and that this process was being viewed separately from the question of the first-team coach.
Kroos's possible engagement is particularly interesting because during his playing career he was synonymous with precision, rationality and control of space. At Real, he was often the player who determined when a match should be calmed down, when it should be accelerated and on which side the attack should be opened. Such a profile could be useful in assessing midfielders, but also in a broader understanding of what kind of footballer can withstand the demands of Real Madrid. According to AS, in Valdebebas his return is viewed as a possibility to strengthen the sporting and institutional level, not as a marketing move without substance. After leaving professional football, Kroos remained connected with Madrid, among other things through the work of his football academy, which according to official information operates with an emphasis on technique, tactics, mentality and the personal development of young players. Precisely this transition from elite competition toward player development could give him a different, but useful, perspective for the club.
Why Real Madrid is seeking knowledge from its own dressing room
In recent years, Real Madrid has been in a process of generational change that began before the departures of Modrić and Kroos, but gained its full weight with their exits from the team. In the meantime, the club built a new core around younger players, but the departure of the two midfielders who defined the style of play created a void that is not only tactical. Modrić and Kroos were not standard squad members, but players who read risk, tempo, emotions and timing throughout a match. For that reason, according to Spanish information, their possible involvement in Madrid is not viewed only through the question of nostalgia, but as an attempt to transfer club experience into decision-making. In modern football, in which transfers are increasingly expensive and adaptation periods increasingly shorter, this form of internal knowledge can have considerable value.
The role of former players in the sporting structures of major clubs often depends on the clarity of authority. If the function is only honorary, its impact is limited; if it is operational, it is necessary to precisely define the relationship with the sporting director, coach, scouts and board. In the case of Modrić and Kroos, the greatest benefit could be in advisory and evaluative work, especially in assessing profiles that fit Real Madrid's game and the mentality of competing at the highest level. They can help distinguish players who have the quality for the big stage from those who, despite good numbers, may not have the necessary stability, patience or ability to make decisions under pressure. Such an assessment would not replace analytics or the scouting network, but could complement them with experience from matches in which trophies are decided. That is precisely why the idea of their return fits into a broader trend in which clubs are increasingly trying to combine data, market knowledge and the legacy of their own dressing room.
The elections provide an additional political and symbolic framework
The possible return of Modrić and Kroos is taking place at a sensitive institutional moment for Real Madrid. The club's electoral board officially announced that voting for the president and board of directors will be held on June 7, 2026, in the Basketball Pavilion at Ciudad Real Madrid, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. According to official club documents, the electoral procedure was launched in accordance with the statutes, and candidacies could be submitted from May 14 to May 23. Real Madrid stated in separate minutes that the candidacies of Florentino Pérez Rodríguez and Enrique José Riquelme Vives were accepted as valid. This means that every major sporting message in the final stage of the campaign, including talk of the return of legends, is also viewed through the prism of governance continuity and the vision for the next period.
Pérez has long built Real Madrid on a combination of sporting success, global commercial strength and strong reliance on club symbols. Modrić and Kroos carry special weight in that sense because they are not only former players, but the faces of an era that cemented Real Madrid as the dominant team in European football in a decade marked by a series of major Champions League victories. Bringing them closer to the club could send a message of stability at a moment when members are being presented with the future model of governance and sporting strategy. However, it is important to emphasize that the electoral context does not mean that their future functions have already been agreed. According to the available information, this is a matter of open doors, interest and possible talks, while official confirmation of concrete positions has not yet been announced.
A legacy that goes beyond statistics
In Modrić's official profile, Real Madrid emphasizes that the Croatian midfielder won the Ballon d'Or, The Best FIFA award and UEFA's Player of the Year award in 2018, and that at the club he was part of one of the best midfields in football history. With Kroos, the club highlights his technique, vision, passing precision and professionalism, as well as the fact that he started in all five European Cup finals he played with Real. Those two biographies explain why Madrid is considering their value even after their playing period. Modrić brings intuition, improvisation and the ability to solve situations in tight spaces, while Kroos symbolizes structure, calmness and control. Together, they represent a combination that for years enabled Real Madrid to survive chaotic matches and turn them to their own advantage.
If the project is realized, one of the biggest challenges will be to transform playing authority into functional club work. Great players do not automatically become successful advisers or directors, because such roles require patience, negotiation skills, the ability to work with data and the willingness to make decisions that are not always popular. However, Modrić and Kroos have an advantage because throughout their careers they were footballers whose value was based on understanding the game, not only on physical dominance. That is precisely why their experience can be useful in identifying profiles that suit Real in the long term, especially in midfield, but also in assessing the character of players who enter a dressing room with extremely high expectations. According to the available information, the club sees them as people who could contribute to the broader sporting project, not merely appear occasionally in ceremonial roles.
The decision is still awaited, but the direction is clear
At this moment, there is no official statement from Real Madrid confirming that Luka Modrić or Toni Kroos are taking on specific roles at the club. What has been confirmed is that Modrić ended his playing chapter in Madrid, that he signed for Milan until June 30, 2026, with the possibility of an extension, that Kroos ended his career after Euro 2024 and that Real Madrid is entering presidential elections on June 7, 2026. What, according to Spanish media reports, is under consideration is their renewed closeness to the club in a sporting and advisory sense. Such a development would fit into the logic of Real as an institution that often seeks to maintain a strong connection with the most important figures in its history. For Modrić and Kroos, it would be a continuation of their relationship with the club in which they reached the peak of their careers; for Real Madrid, an opportunity to turn the knowledge of one of its most successful generations into a tool for future decisions.
Sources:
- AS – report on Luka Modrić's possible return to Real Madrid after the end of his playing career (link)
- AS – report on Real Madrid's preparations for Toni Kroos's return to the club's sporting structure (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – official announcement on the end of Luka Modrić's playing chapter at Real Madrid (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – Luka Modrić's club profile in the legends section (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – official announcement on the end of Toni Kroos's professional career after Euro 2024 (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – Toni Kroos's club profile in the legends section (link)
- AC Milan – official announcement on Luka Modrić's signing until June 30, 2026, with an option to extend (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – official minutes of the electoral board on the date and place of the 2026 presidential elections (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – official minutes on the validity of Florentino Pérez Rodríguez's candidacy (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – official minutes on the candidacy of Enrique José Riquelme Vives (link)
- FIFA – official schedule of the 2026 World Cup and confirmation that the tournament begins on June 11 in Mexico City (link)
- Toni Kroos Academy – official information about the academy and its developmental approach (link)